Patience
by TheAnimeWriterLover
Summary: Tanaka has been patient with her boyfriend, Sendou Takeshi, for a long time. She has been patient when he focused only on boxing and forgot about the people in his life. Yet, she hoped that he'd be there when she needed him. In a time of need for support, would he prove her he still cares? Sendou Takeshi/OC


It had been a long day, too long, in fact. Tanaka dragged her legs back to her tiny apartment, ready to collapse in any second. No, that wasn't right. She might run to the nearest toilet and barf, again, for the fifth time that evening. Her pale skin appeared paler, if that was possible. Her hair that was brought up in a professional bun started to come out on its own. None of her coworkers batted an eye, but rather threw her a look of sympathy. It was her first day on the job in the police force and in the homicide department. Of course, with her luck, on her first day there had to be a murder. To be showed the ropes, the Inspector decided to drag her along.

Tanaka gulped down the familiar feeling that made its way up her throat. Her eyes clench tight as she leaned up against her apartment's door. With a violently shaken hand, the key missed the keyhole a few times. When it finally got in, the young woman felt so weak that she had a hard time turning it. Once she succeeded, finally, the black headed 21 year old stumbled into her dark apartment. After she insured that the door was locked, she shuffled everywhere to get ready for the bed. When she looked at her futon with tired brown eyes, she threw it a look of skepticism. One of the older police officers informed her that the first few times were always the hardest. So she was warned about the lack of sleep and given tips about some things that she could do about it.

One of them was talk with loved ones.

Tanaka took a few moments to close the lights and get into her bed. A sigh of relief and tiresome escaped her lips. Her eyelids felt heavy, ready to close and experience her first nightmares. Stubbornness was the only thing that kept them open. They looked over at the house phone that rested on the ground, next to her head. Her hands clenched the mattress underneath her. Was it worth it? Should she call her boyfriend? Takeshi had been busy lately with the upcoming rematch against this Makunouchi Ippo guy. Her boxer boyfriend barely slept as it was, with his intense training and excitement.

But if the nightmares were true, then she doubted that there would be any sleep tonight. It wouldn't hurt to talk over the phone a bit, right?

Tanaka hoped that Takeshi would be willing to talk and support her, this time around. Ever since he got into boxing, the man became more forgettable. At least, when it came to the people in his life, like her and his grandmother. With his popularity getting into his head, the young woman forced to stay patient. _It can't last forever_ , she always thought. _He'll return to how he was before, I know it._ So with every forgetful birthdays, dates or anniversaries, Tanaka gulped down her pride and waited. She mentioned a few times about his forgetfulness. Takeshi was always surprised then panicked and tried to make it up to her. He always promised in the end that he'd never forget them again. He did, always. This time around, he forgot to wish her good luck on her first day of work. She always remembered. Every time he had a boxing match, she'd come to watch him and wish him luck. He promised that he'd do it before he left for training, early in the morning. Of course, he forgot. There wasn't even a voice message.

Tanaka tried to remember all the things that made her fall in love with him. It always worked in the beginning. Yet, it became less and less effective as time went on. Tears silently ran down her cheeks, to her oblivion. With a shaken hand, she grabbed the phone and dialed his house number. He may be forgetful, but he couldn't be this unsupportive as her mind tried to tell her. Even though he was violent and had a short-temper, he was one of the kindness people she ever knew. Tanaka supported his career and continued to go out with him. Even after her mother kicked her out at age 18 for being with a boxer. After all those abuses she endured from her mother. After all those nights she wished her father would be alive and meet him and be proud and happy for them. He just… he just couldn't be this unsupportive. Tanaka refused to believe that.

 _Ring… ring… ring… ri- click_

"Moshi moshi" A tired and worn out male voice answered. "Who the hell is it? Do you know what time is it?"

Tanaka almost slammed her phone down, to end the call. Both from embarrassment and shame, having forgotten how late it was. Instead, she bit her lip, gulped down the emotions and forced a smile.

"Hey, Takeshi, it's me."

Damn, she never realized how dry and weak her voice sounded. It may not have been a good idea, after all.

"'Me'? What the hell do you mean- wait… Tanaka?!" Takeshi sounded more awake and louder, like his usual self. "What the hell happened to your voice?"

Tanaka curled into a tight ball underneath the blanket. Her stomach long empty, but the images of what she saw made it feel like it still had something. She gave him a weak chuckle.

"Nothing… nothing to worry about. It's… i-it has been a rough first day."

"First day…?" It was silent on the other side for a while. He shouted in complete shock. "Wait, was it _today_ your first day of work? Shit… I completely forgot about it." A slap echoed to her end. The woman imagined that he slapped his forehead or something along those lines. "Tanaka, I'm really, _really_ , sorry. I-"

"It's fine." She cut him off with a weak smile. More tears came out, this time to her knowledge. The black headed 21 years old brushed them away with frustration. She was a cop now. There was no time to cry. She had to be tough, like her father always was when he returned home from homicide cases. The things people would say about her, if they found out about her being the girlfriend of _the_ Sendou Takeshi. "I'm used to it by now. You have a lot of things to worry about, like the match with Makunouchi."

"Are you stupid or something? Of course it's not fine." Her boyfriend argued back. Tanaka imagined how his hands flew everywhere as he spoke. For a Japanese man, he didn't fit with the average population. He was so passionate, with a loud voice and louder presence. If anything, he reminded her of the descriptions of a Mediterranean individual. She could almost imagine him walk down the same streets as Italians or Greeks and fit right in. He was never sorry with how he portrait his presence. It was something that made her notice him the first time they met. "I know that I'm forgetful, but that's no excuse. You know what? I'm coming over."

It took a moment for Tanaka to realize what he said.

"What? Takeshi, you don't have to. You have training tomorrow."

She protested as loud as her throat allowed her.

"Screw training. There are some things in life more important than boxing."

 _Beep… beep… beep…_

Tanaka stared at her phone in disbelief. He hung up on her. Shit, this meant that he was really coming over. That couldn't be true. It was late and she lived a bit far. He couldn't possibly come over. _Be honest, you know him, he is._ Her brain replied with its own shaken head of disbelief. The young woman groaned and buried her face into her pillow. The phone rested on the ground, nowhere near its initial destination. Not that she cared. At the moment, the black headed woman tried to figure out what to do. One thing she hoped was that he wouldn't break down the door to get to her. If one wanted to be realistic, then for him not to be too loud. He had a copy of her key, so he'd be fine getting inside without much commotion.

A smile tugged in the corner of her lips. Tanaka hugged the pillow and snuggled her nose into it. _What was I thinking before? Takeshi may be forgetful, but he's not heartless. He never was and I doubt he ever will be._ _He's just… extreme at times. That's all._ Her thoughts slowed down as fatigue overcame her. She felt so tired and emotionally drained. One thing about her job she hoped she'd overcome would be her sickness over the homicide scenes. It wouldn't do to be in this department and get sick every time she got called in. At least with this case, they got the culprit. Not that the culprit tried to get away, as they were the ones to call the police. A rare case, her coworkers told her. At least they were behind bars.

Tanaka slammed her head against the pillow, in hopes to get rid of the images, again. She didn't know how long she stayed in this position. The only thing that she knew was the tiresome and hard effort to not fall asleep. At some point, the sound of the door being unlocked echoed through the tiny, quiet apartment. With the knowledge of who it was, the young woman made no efforts to get up. She closed her brown eyes and listened to the footsteps that approached her. The phone next to her got picked up and put back in its place then pushed aside. A body of heat rested next to her. It took Tanaka all her inner will to not snuggle closer.

Instead, she turned her head and opened her eyes. They met a darker pair. Even in the dark, their presence was hard to miss.

"Hey"

Tanaka whispered. A big, rough hand lifted and rested on her cheek. Her much smaller hand rested on it, trying to savour the warmth of it. It had been awhile since they were in each other's presence. They mostly talked over the phone, as Takeshi's schedule became too full.

"Hey to you too"

He whispered back. His muscular arms wrapped around her frame and pulled her to him along with her blanket. His girlfriend snuggled into his warmth and tugged her nose into his neck. Her hands tugged between their bodies and took notice of something. Tanaka's hands clenched onto the shirt a bit before letting go.

"What?" She looked up and touched his face. The warmth of his body didn't match that of his face. Her eyes widened at the revelation. "Takeshi, you ran all the way here in your nightclothes? It's cold!"

"Yeah, so?" The boxer replied, but with chattering teeth. Still in disbelief but fully awake now, his girlfriend threw her blanket onto him. She got up to get him some of his clothes that he kept here, but a hand grabbed her wrist. With a yelp, she got pulled back under the blanket and pulled back into a hug. "I'm fine, stop worrying about me so much."

"Fine? You're freezing and shivering and-"

"Then help me warm up."

The way he said that in such a calm voice with a touch of chatter made Tanaka sigh. She wrapped her arms around his head and hugged him. Takeshi snuggled his nose into her neck and tightened his hold around her waist. Fingers ran through his brown hair, which made him relax.

"You'll catch a cold like this, and then you won't be able to go to your match."

"I'm not so weak to allow a little cold to get in between our fight. It's a fight between men, not pussies." This made his girlfriend sigh again at the familiar declaration. "What happened today? Your voice sounds really scratchy."

The fingers in his hair stopped mid-scratches. His dark eyes looked up at her with a worried expression. It made her smile. He got compared to a tiger a lot, but to her, he looked like a kitten. To make a further point, she scratched him behind the ears. He closed his eyes and groaned in a low tone and pulled her closer to him. _I almost forgot how much I love being like this with him._ Tanaka thought with a soft smile. Yes she was upset about a lot of things, especially his forgetfulness. Yet, it was moments like these that made them appear so minor and forgotten. The smile disappeared soon, when Tanaka realized that she has yet to answer. The scratching behind the ear stopped.

"I… there was a case today. The Inspector took me to a homicide scene."

Takeshi looked up at her surprised.

"Wait, on your first day?" She nodded. The boxer frowned deeply. "How bad was it?" Tanaka looked away, appearing a bit sick. It was then that her boyfriend realized the reason behind her scratchy voice. He quickly spoke once again, before she could. "You don't have to talk about it. I might hear about it on the news soon, anyways. Just… rest, okay?"

The two looked at each other for a bit before the woman of the duo nodded.

"Only if you stay"

Takeshi grunted in responds. The two resumed into their previous position.

As they rested there, neither spoke a word. The only thing that was heard was their steady breathes. Sometimes there'd be a groan from the man, when the back of his ear would get scratched. Tanaka treasured the moment, not knowing when they'd share one next time. A pair of cold lips pressed against her neck, in a loving manner. The owner of that neck shivered from the coldness. The arms around the head tightened a bit, in hopes to share the warmth. The pair of lips made a trail of kisses to the ears, ignoring the arms.

"Hey…" Takeshi's deep whisper breathed out. "I know that I'm not being the best boyfriend at the moment. I just… I just want to let you know that I appreciate your patience with me." Tanaka tilted her head a bit so to look at her boyfriend. His hand lifted and rested on her cheek. The thumb rubbed against her lips, in a way to silence her before she made any protests. "You have been there for me for a long time. I know if it was any other woman, they'd have left me a long time ago. That's why I swear that I'll do my damn best to not make you regret going out with me."

Tanaka blushed at the small speech, even more so when he looked at her with such a serious expression. She knew that he wasn't going to back down on that promise. This promise was different from the past ones. They were simple enough, like remembering the next anniversary or something. This… this was something on a completely different level. A smile threatened to split her face. In hopes to hide it, she buried her face into his chest. Takeshi chuckled and held her tight. He blew a raspberry kiss on the side of her neck, which made her shriek with laughter. The two played wrestle for a bit until they grew too tired to continue.

The boxer rested half of his body on top of his girlfriend's, which forced her to lay on her back. The two simply stared at each other with soft expressions. Tanaka ran her fingers through his hair once more. Only this time she grabbed a short strain of hair and twirled it around her finger. Takeshi put his forearms on each side of her body and rose a bit, until they came face to face. Without a word, the couple shared a soft kiss. This kiss was so different from their usual ones. With those, the boxer always showed his love and passion. She'd always accept it and, with shyness, try to return the emotions. This one was that of love, yes, but also appreciation. It was as if he was afraid that she'd break under his well-known strong, pure instincts force. Tanaka sighed softly into the kiss. She cradled his face and deepened the kiss a bit, to show her acceptance.

The kiss didn't last long, but it didn't need to. When they pulled away, they both shared a smile. They moved a bit to get into their final sleeping positions. Takeshi rested on his back with Tanaka's head rested on his chest. His muscular arm wrapped around her body and held her close with protectiveness. The 21 year old woman allowed sleep to overtake her, with a soft smile on her lips. Her boxer boyfriend didn't go to sleep yet. He watched her for a bit with his thumb rubbing her side. His whisper filled the quiet room, with deep promise.

"I love you… I always will."

As if she heard him, Tanaka smiled more in her sleep. With a tired sigh, Takeshi closed his eyes and joined her in the world of dreams.


End file.
